Goosebumps Horrorland: The Teddy Bear's Picnic
by JudeDeluca
Summary: Ginger Wald and her brothers were almost devoured in "The Beast from the East." The three siblings thought they'd been through the worst. But then Ginger receives an invitation to Horrorland, and the Wald children are going to learn that the certain players of a certain game want a rematch.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Characters owned by Scholastic.

I can't believe I started this fic years ago and didn't finish it. I decided to take it down and re-post it after doing some editing. I'm not happy with my old writing.

Okay, so, Goosebumps was the book series that originally got me into reading. I still read and buy the books because I want to one day professionally write books like them for children.

The original Horrorland book is one of my favorites because I loved the concept of Horrorland itself. The version of the park seen here incorporates everything we've seen of the park from the books, but I've added in plenty of other rides and sections, many of them based off stuff from other Goosebumps books and some video games.

This story is a sequel to "The Beast From The East," focusing on Ginger Wald and her twin brothers being invited to Horrorland.

* * *

"If you go out in the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise."

Ever heard that before? It's part of the lyrics for "The Teddy Bear's Picnic." When I was younger, my dad used to sing that to me at night, to help me go to sleep. But all it did was make me think of finding bears in the woods. Huge, bloodthirsty bears that wanted to rip me apart and eat me. I'd lie awake for hours after hearing that song, and when I finally fell asleep I'd have nightmares.

My name is Ginger Wald, and about a month ago that song, in at least one sense, came true. Only it wasn't bears I found in the woods. It was Beasts.

I should probably start at the beginning. Yes, I think that's best.

During my family's camping trip, my dad asked me to take my brothers, Nat and Pat, for a walk in the woods while he and mom set up camp. Specifically, he said to lose them. He was only joking when he said it, so, he didn't think we'd actually get lost. I'll bet he wishes he hadn't said that.

The two terrors were acting up as they usually did and were driving us insane. Nat and Pat are, you guessed it, twins. They both have round faces and brown hair in the middle and going straight down the sides. They used to act up a lot before our trip. It's understandable why they're so quiet now.

Anyway, as I mentioned, we ended up getting lost. The three of us wandered into the strangest part of the woods any of us had ever seen. There was rust colored grass up to our ankles, weird blue umbrella-like plants, trees that reached up on and on into the sky, yellow vines and purple cabbage plants everywhere, and bizarre animals we'd never seen before. Oh, and of course, the Beasts. Huge creatures with blue fur and pointed fangs that play a game like tag. Only it's not. Why?

The person who is "It" is called "The Beast From The East." They must tag another player from the direction of the east before the sun sets behind a large tree called the Gulla Willow. Whoever's still Beast from the East when the game ends is the loser. And the loser gets eaten.

We first saw the Beasts in a giant clearing we wandered into. There were dozens of them, with the same blue fur and the same long, jagged fang running down their chins. We had no idea what they were, but we knew we had to get out there before they saw us. Pat outran us, and so it was just Nat and me when the Beasts found us. And I was made Beast from the East.

There were two beasts I knew by name, Fleg and Spork. I could distinguish Fleg by his flabby chin and his chipped fang, and Spork by the empty eye-socket he constantly scratched along with the long scar going over his nose. They told us what the game was about, but that was ALL they did. No matter how much we told them we didn't want to play, they wouldn't listen.

Fleg and Spork wouldn't explain the rules to us. They kept thinking we played the game before. There were so many confusing rules and something about points that I never understood. Fleg probably thought that my asking about the rules was a diversion or something, so we could lull him into a false sense of security.

The whole thing was a nightmare. I was running around hectic trying to tag one of the other Beasts, but they kept coming up with different rules whenever I did. And Nat got stuck inside a penalty cage for most of the game. The only way out was for him to eat a tarantula. Blech.

I actually caught a break and tagged Spork, although I was stuck in the game until the sun set. I found Pat even though with the way things were going I wished I hadn't. I thought it would've been better if he found Mom and Dad. By the time the game ended, I was Beast from the East again. So the Beasts were going to eat us. Barbecue us, to be exact. But then Nat showed up, and for once their insane rules played in our favor.

Apparently, the Beasts didn't know what a twin is. They believed Nat made a copy of himself, doing a move called a "Classic Clone," which is something only Level Three players can do. Fleg and Spork and the rest of them said they were Level One players, and that Level One players can only play during the day. They directed us to a path that would lead us back to "our" world, but as soon as we left, another giant Beast stood in our way.

I should've kept my mouth shut. I should've just said we were done playing. I told this new Beast we were Level Three players. And, guess what? So was he. Just like that, the nightmare would've started all over again. But I was tired, sore, scared, and angry. We didn't stick around to go through a whole new round of torture. I grabbed my brothers, and we just kept running and running down that path until we heard familiar voices.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh thank goodness! What happened?!"

"Are you hurt?"

"Do you know how worried we've been?!"

I didn't feel safe until we were out of those woods and safely at the Ranger's Station. We sat in that wooden building near the park entrance, and while the ranger called for an ambulance to take us to the hospital, I told mom and dad what happened.

Of course the adults didn't believe us. They kept telling us that it was all right and we were safe. Nat and Pat were nervous wrecks and said nothing. I guess maybe I seemed a little hysterical. Mom and Dad thought our story was nothing but a case of shock. I was determined to convince them otherwise.

"But I'm telling you the truth! We were almost eaten by the-"

"Ginger it's alright." Mom told us. "The important thing is that you're all safe."

"Young lady," Dad began, "I'm sorry, but that's a pretty far-fetched story."

I sighed in exasperation. I needed proof. Proof that our near-death experience wasn't shock or hallucinations or rationalizing how we got lost. Real, tangible proof.

And then I remembered the marks on my hand. Whenever I touched something in those weird woods color rubbed off on my hand. Fleg called them "Nubloff Colors," whatever that means. I looked at my palm, and I was thankful that the multicolored splotches were still there.

"Here, look! Look at my hand!" I shouted as I waved my palm in their faces.

"What?" Dad asked.

"I got these marks when we were in that part of the woods. See? You see I'm not making this up?" I said.

"Ginger, this could've come from anything." Mom shook her head.

"Really?" Dad asked, actually taking my side for moment. "Have you ever seen blue sap before?" He questioned Mom.

"Have you?" Mom shot back. "Ginger, splotches on your hand don't really prove anything. Honey, it's possible these 'Beasts' you saw might've been caused by an allergic reaction to one of the plants in the forest."

"An allergic reaction." I repeated in a hollow voice.

"That would explain the marks on your hand. She might've come in contact with psychotropic plant or moss. Did you eat any strange berries?" Dad asked.

"Then how could Nat and Pat have seen and heard the same things I did?"

"Honey, you said yourself the three of you got separated." Dad said in a concerned and admittedly patronizing voice. "How do you know they didn't brush up against any weird plants or eat any berries themselves? You probably just saw a bear and thought it was something else," Dad rationalized, "And your brothers saw it because you said you were seeing. If you said the bear was something else, they might've believed it too."

 _I don't believe this_ , I thought.

 _I can't believe my parents could be so._

 _Utterly._

 ** _Stupid_** _._

But I knew if I got hysterical and started crying, my parents would never believe me.

"None of us ate anything in the forest. I'm the only one with marks. This was not an allergic reaction. I am not crazy, and neither are Nat and Pat." I practically hissed through my gritted teeth, keeping my gaze on the floor. I just, I couldn't look at them. I-I hated them so much at this moment. They were treating me like a baby. My fists were clenched so tight I felt my nails break the skin of my palm. I was sure I was now bleeding.

"We're not saying that. Please, Ginger, calm down." Mom began calmly, attempting to put her hand on my shoulder as if to console me. I actually swatted her grip away, as if her touch might kill me. I looked at her hand and it felt like I was looking at something foul and diseased. I just did not want either of my parents to touch me.

"Don't patronize me like I'm an idiot!" I shouted, looking up at Mom and doing my very best to not cry.

"Ginger, don't you yell at your mother! We understand you and your brothers have gone through a terrible experience, bu-" Dad began, but I cut him off.

"Don't yell at her?!" I screamed, getting up out of my seat and throwing off the blanket the ranger had put around my shoulders. "You 'understand?!' A 'TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE?!'" My fists were shaking and my face felt hot. "You two have no idea what the three of us have been through! And before you say 'We understand' one more time I have to ask you to **_SHUT UP!_** "

" _Ginger!_ " Mom stood back, horrified at how angry I'd suddenly become.

"We were almost killed! Eaten alive!" I seethed. "We were hunted and toyed with like we were animals! How could you ever try and tell me you understand when I've told you exactly what happened and you think I'm lying?!"

They stood there, backed up against the wall of the cabin, at a loss for words as I continued my rant.

"You weren't there! We were alone! I thought we were all going to die! And I did not make it through those woods with my brothers just so we'd be treated like mental patients!"

"But, Ginger, you expect us to believe you were chased by giant, blue creatures that could talk?" Dad asked. "Be reasonable!"

"Don't you think I know how insane this all sounds?! You may think I'm lying but I'm not! You have no idea what kind of nightmare we went through and you never will! So don't tell me it'll be okay if you won't even give me the benefit of the doubt! Do you think just because we're kids we're making this up?!"

"Excuse me."

We turned to the park ranger. He'd been in the other room, making a phone call to someone. I finally noticed the door had been open, which meant he must have heard everything I said.

"What?" I asked, realizing how ridiculous I must look right now and preparing myself to hear another adult tell me to be reasonable.

"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Wald," he addressed Mom and Dad. "The ambulance is on its way. And, as for you Miss-"

"I'm so sorry for my daughter's behavior." Dad apologized on my behalf and proving he hadn't actually listened to what I was saying. "The shock of what she's been through has-"

"I don't believe your story is because of shock." The ranger looked right at me as he said that.

Mom and Dad suddenly went pale.

"What?" I couldn't believe it. "Y-you believe me?"

The ranger gave me a look that, well, I'm not sure how else to describe it, other than he seemed to be thinking over everything I just said and he wasn't dismissing it.

"What did you say your name was again?" The ranger asked me.

"Ginger." I replied.

"Ginger." He repeated, this time in an attempt to fully address that he was speaking directly to me. "Yes, yes I believe you."

The room went silent. No one spoke, and the only sound I could hear apart from Nat and Pat's breathing was the thumping of my heart.

Finally, Dad opened his mouth.

"Has, has something like this happened before?" Dad asked.

"Well, this park has something of a reputation."The ranger scratched his cheek as he began to speak. "Over the years we've gotten reports of people encountering strange things in these woods. They say they've found weird plants and they stumble into areas not on the map. Campers and hikers are sometimes found in ragged conditions. They talk about creatures like these 'Beasts.'" The ranger cleared his throat. "I haven't been working in this station for very long, but some of the senior staff has told me about a few of the strange incidents that have happened here."

Mom's face, which had gone pale when the ranger began speaking, abruptly turned scarlet.

"And you didn't think it was worth mentioning any of this to us while we were looking for our children?" Mom spoke, actually, now _she_ was shouting. "You just casually forgot to tell us this?!"

"Like I said Mrs. Wald, I haven't been working here for very long. People sometimes go missing in these woods and we find them if we're lucky, but most of the time it's simply because they got lost and not because they've run into monsters." The ranger spoke calmly, albeit with a slight hint of sadness in his voice. "Besides, if I had mentioned any of this before, would you have seriously believed me? _I_ didn't even really believe them until now."

I said nothing. Mom hugged Nat and Pat as she cried.

Nat and Pat, they hadn't said a single word all evening.

Dad sank in a chair in disbelief, looking like someone had just punched him in the stomach.

The ranger looked at me again.

"I'm sorry." He quietly said to me.

I nodded but said nothing. I didn't blame him. Like he said, he was new here. He didn't believe these stories. I wouldn't have believed them myself if I hadn't lived through it.

I suddenly felt the tension in my body disappear. My shoulders slumped, my grip relaxed.

My story had been validated, but I realized this meant other unfortunate people had suffered through what we had. And many of them didn't survive.

I looked at my hands. There were deep red marks on my palms, and I smelled blood on my fingernails.

Everything after that moment was a blank.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Characters owned by Scholastic.

This next chapter focuses on the time before the trip to Horrorland, mainly, the after effects of that camping trip.

I apologize if this is a little confusing. It's just I wanted to make it clear that Ginger is confused and scared. Her home situation has become horrible and everybody is having an extremely difficult time because of the guilt and trauma they've suffered, with Ginger in the middle of it all.

* * *

That was a month ago. And no, things didn't get better for my family.

The ambulance arrived at the park and drove us to the hospital. On the way, the paramedics insisted on having mine and my brothers' stomachs pumped to make sure we didn't accidentally eat something toxic in the woods. I couldn't even begin to tell you how much _that_ sucked. The doctors at the hospital ran a bunch of tests and determined, as best they could, we hadn't come in contact with anything that would've made us see or hear things that weren't real. The thought did not sooth my parents.

I thought if we went home we could just put all of this behind us and pretend it never happened. I was wrong.

Mom and Dad now blamed themselves for what happened, since the camping trip was their idea in the first place. The moment we got home, dad got rid of our camping gear. No, that's not right. He _destroyed_ it. He said our family was never going on another camping trip ever again.

That first night home, Dad set up a bonfire in our backyard one and just threw everything, the tent, poles, backpacks, even our hiking boots, all of it, on top of the pyre. I, unfortunately, saw the whole thing. Dad kept adding fuel to make sure the fire burned it all, and Mom kept begging him to put it out before the blaze spread to the house. He just ignored her. The thing is Dad didn't seem upset or frantic. He was just so… _calm_. Like he was in a world all his own. Which I guess is why he didn't notice our neighbors coming out of their homes to see what was going on. Some were spying on us from their windows while others smelled the smoke or heard the fire so they assumed something was wrong. Someone even called the fire department. Mom and I were so embarrassed. Dad kept them from making sure they didn't interfere until he was sure everything was gone. When the chief fireman finally got his way and had the flames doused, Dad was pleased all that remained was just a black heap of unidentifiable garbage.

One of the worst things about being back was the boredom that set in. I'd already completed my summer homework before the trip. So did Nat and Pat. We were told the trip would be cancelled if we hadn't done all our assignments before we left. So now Mom and Dad couldn't even nag us about it. All of my friends were off on vacations of their own. I had no one to talk to, and believe me, I really wish I had. Because no one at home wanted to talk to _me_.

I kept thinking about the Beasts, and about how I opened my big mouth just as we had gotten away. I wondered, could they find us? Were they looking for me and my brothers now? I no longer had nightmares about bloodthirsty bears, but secretly I prayed and hoped I would. ANYTHING to not dream about the Beasts.

My absolute worst nightmare was the one where the Beasts caught all of us… but let ME live. I said "live" not "go free" because then they would make me watch as they devoured my whole family. Devoured alive and screaming for help while I couldn't do anything. I had that dream only once, and I remember it just as vividly as I remember that day.

Soon my family issues began to overshadow my fear of the Beasts. Mom and Dad seemed to be trying to make up for the trip, even though none of us really blamed them for anything. Suddenly, we had no more chores. Our monthly allowances became our weekly allowances. We were always going out for dinner, or to see movies, or go shopping (and even with our allowance increase they offered to pay for everything). Only with the way everybody felt, these attempts fell flat on their faces.

In spite of our increase in family quality time, no one was really talking with anyone. The trip was never brought up, and if someone did mention it Mom or Dad would tell them to be quiet or drown them out as loudly as possible. Dad was becoming distant, and Mom was smothering. I think their frequent attempts to make us happy were more an attempt to convince their selves everything was okay. I think it was my fault. I kept thinking about the way I yelled at them back at the ranger's station, and looking back I felt disgusted with myself over how much grief I gave them.

Dad, I don't think he really understood just how badly we were doing, or he did but just didn't understand how he could help. He talked to us, but mostly just asking if we were okay or if we wanted anything while we were out. There was a moment, though, when I thought he might want to talk to me.

I was in the kitchen pouring myself a glass of orange juice when he came in.

"Did you finish the rest of the juice?"

I almost choked when I heard Dad speak. I turned around and saw him standing in the doorway.

"Um," I cleared my throat, "Y-yeah. I did."

"Oh." Dad answered.

"I'm sorry, did you want any?" I asked. "You can have the rest of mine."

"No no, that's okay. Now I know to get more the next time we go to the store."

"Good."

I think it was the awkwardest conversation with my Dad I've ever had, but at least we were actually talking. Well, we were before. Now we were just staring at each other.

 _Say something,_ I thought. _Say something you idiot he finally wants to talk **SAY SOMETHING**!_

He turned around and was about to leave before I opened my mouth.

"Dad?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Is… is there anything you want to talk about?" I finally got the words out.

He stared at me for a moment, and I swear I felt my heart stop when he began to speak again.

"No, no." He said. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Oh."

He mumbled something and left the room. I drank some more juice, but it suddenly tasted very bitter. I dumped it in the sink.

At least Dad hadn't become a mess like Mom did. She was trying so hard to make everybody happy when she wasn't locking herself in her bedroom and crying. One night we were all in the living room watching TV. Well, some of us were. Nat and Pat were huddled together on the love seat, not saying or doing anything. Mom forced them to join us. I was wedged between Mom and Dad. Mom wanted us to stay in tonight. Dad was flipping through the channels trying to find something we could all enjoy. He handed Mom the remote when he got up to use the bathroom. She searched a little more slowly, and reached an all day news channel when-

"It's been three months since the disappearance of famous author Richard Clarke and his children, and with no other leads to follow the authorities have officially declared the family deceased."

"Mom change the chan-" I begged but she shushed me and turned up the volume. Mom held the remote in a death grip.

"Clarke, his son Justin and daughter Marissa were last reported backpacking through the forests of Brovania researching local folklore for a new book. Clarke's ex-wife alerted the Brovanian authorities to the situation when she lost contact with-"

I got up and shut the TV off, figuring it would be pointless to try and fight her for the remote. But it was too late.

"Mom-" I tried to say, but the tears were already falling.

"I'm sorry, Ginger." She whispered, and ran out of the room. Dad returned a moment later, asked where Mom went, and I said she went to bed. Neither of us noticed Nat and Pat had already left.

Nat and Pat…

It was horrible. Depressing. More than Mom and Dad. They became so quiet and broody, completely unlike them. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've heard them speak since we came home.

"Nat, you wanna go to the park with me today? You can try climbing that old maple tree again." I asked him one morning after breakfast. "Who knows, you might actually do it this time."

I was trying to tease him yes, but I didn't mean in a bad way. Nat used to love climbing tress. I thought he might like it if we went together. But after I finished speaking, he looked so insulted. He looked as if someone had just slapped him in the face. He ran out of the kitchen without saying a word to me.

Pat was acting the same way.

"Pat?" I found him in the living room, staring at the TV. "What are you watching?"

He didn't even look up at me.

"Pat the TV's not even on."

Nothing.

"Um, here." I handed him his Nintendo DS, his most prized possession. "I've been meaning to give this back to you. You almost left it in the ambulance."

Pat always has his face buried in some video game. I mean, he used to. I'd noticed the consoles in the living room had started accumulating a layer of dust. I hadn't gone near them because Pat tends to be a little… territorial when it comes to his video games. I was still reeling a little from the joy of having my insides pumped, so the shock of realizing Pat had left behind his DS didn't set in until much later.

Maybe I should've just left Pat alone, but I hated seeing him like this.

"Come on Pat, weren't you stuck trying to get through that really hard level in Super Mario 64 DS?" I waved the DS enticingly in front of my brother. "Bet you still can't get throu-"

That was when Pat smacked the DS out of my hands. The thing was thrown into the hallway, where it hit the floor with a loud crash.

Mom and Dad came running into the living room.

"What was that noise?"

"What happened?"

"Are you alright?"

"Ginger? Pat?"

"Pat? Pat where's your brother?"

"Honey-"

"Where is he?!"

I looked up at Mom and Dad. They were looking at me. Well Mom was darting from me to Pat every few seconds. Pat said nothing. Nat wandered into the room and began staring at me next to Mom and Dad.

I felt my lip trembling.

The next thing I knew, I ran for the front door.

"Ginger!" Mom and Dad called after me, but I ignored them.

I ran and ran for what felt like an eternity. I faintly heard my dad calling after me to come back.

 _Oh so **now** he wants to talk to me?!_

Everything was a blur. I distinctly recalled bumping into people as I ran, and at one point I heard the screeching of brakes and a man angrily screaming at me, but I didn't care. I kept running even when I felt a hot pain in my side. I didn't stop until I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and almost collided headfirst into a brick wall. I shot my hands up in time to stop myself.

Panting and breathing very hard, I looked up. I ran all the way to my middle school, which was closed for renovations before the new school year began. Still trying to catch my breath, I leaned against the brick wall.

I looked at my hands and saw that I'd scraped them on the wall as I caught myself. I wasn't bleeding, but I think the last thing I needed to see was the colored blotches that remained on my palm. They never faded, no matter how hard I tried to scrub them off. I would always have this single, physical reminder I realized.

I finally started to cry.

I didn't care at the moment if anyone saw me. I kept this in for too long, ever since that day in the woods. Only now there was so much more.

My brothers and I had almost been killed by monsters in the woods, but we survived and returned to a home filled with guilt and fear. I know that sounds stupid but I don't know how else to say it.

The Beasts. My parents. My brothers. All of it in my head. I thought I was going to vomit. I clutched my stomach. Everything was connected but at the same time it was all so badly mixed up inside my mind it felt like they were all like, like, I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT! I'm sorry I just didn't!

I didn't know what to do. What was I supposed to do except cry? I'm just a kid, I don't know! What am I supposed to do in situations like this?! I can't do **_anything!_**

I sobbed and sank to the ground on my knees. I banged my fists on the wall until my hand hurt. Everything was awful. I hated everyone and I hated myself. Should I have screamed at my parents? Should I have run just now? Who could I talk to? It was clear no one at home wanted to speak to me, so I thought if I tried to talk they wouldn't listen. No one except my family knows about the Beasts so if I tried talking to anyone else they'd think I was crazy. But it's not like there was anyone I could talk to about this anyway. Where could I go? I didn't want to go back home and face them again.

Nat's unhappy, Pat's unhappy, Mom and Dad are unhappy, I'M unhappy. Why couldn't anyone notice that I wanted to talk about how I felt inside instead of keeping it in?

I was alone, and scared like I'd been in the woods, only this time I was alone and scared and surrounded by people who were making me feel worse even though they didn't mean to. That made it more unbearable in a way. Does any of that make sense? I'm sorry.

No one in my family could help me, and I couldn't help them.

I wish I had a place to go to where none of this could follow me.

I guess that's why it seemed, at first, like such a relief when the letter from HorrorLand came.


End file.
